


[1-Million-Words June Bingo]

by DarchangelSkye



Category: American Idol RPF, Music RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Beaches, Bingo, Comfort, Community: 1-million-words, Community: 1_million_words, Cute, Emotional, Fluff, Holding Hands, Love, M/M, Nervousness, Non-Chronological, Requited Love, Romance, Roses, Schmoop, Shameless, Singing, Skype, Slow Dancing, Song Lyrics, Sunsets, Sweet, Teasing, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, happy tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-02 12:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4059583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarchangelSkye/pseuds/DarchangelSkye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>for the June Bingo Challenge at http://1-million-words.livejournal.com/1221352.html</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rose

**Author's Note:**

> my chosen card: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/tkeylasunset/21817263/375099/375099_original.jpg

It's a common sight at this point in the tour, backstage and the dressing room filled to the corners with presents for the singers. Many of the flowers and stuffed animals get donated to the local hospital later, but there's still a few trinkets kept as everybody wants to have mementos of what's shaping up to be the best summer of their lives.

Clark is poring over a scrapbook when he feels and hears the rustle of Nick sitting by him on the sofa. He looks up and sees the rustle also came from the big bouquet of multicolored roses in the older man's arms. "So should I be calling you American Idol or Mister America?" he teases.

"Go on, don't tell me you're not feeling glamorous from all this attention." Nick plucks an orange flower from the pile to inhale deeply, and Clark vaguely tries to recall what that color means.

"It's pretty flattering how creative everybody is," he eventually says and rubs over a puffy piano sticker in the scrapbook. "I mean, as long as they mean it."

"No crime in bein' the sunshine in somebody's day, beb." Nick puts the orange bloom back and pulls out red and white.

Red and white, love and innocence, two things that have always mattered to them no matter what happens.

"You don't have a non-romantic bone in your body, huh?" Clark sets the scrapbook aside and watches his boyfriend breathe in the flowers with eyes shut and lips smiling as slightly as if he's having a wonderful dream. It's a smile that's been very pleasant to get used to and be greeted with over the past months.

When Nick opens his eyes again, he glances them to the young man's direction, his expression all too knowing. "I always thought it a good thing." He carefully twirls the stems in his long fingers, and that's when Clark sees they don't have thorns at all.

"Hmm..." Nick reaches both the roses over, and Clark brings up a hand to take them in the charming gesture that it is, but they don't touch his hand right away. Instead the silky petals touch his cheek, loving as a kiss and gentle as a morning sunbeam. "Oh-"

"Helps me see the beautiful things in life." Nick keeps eye contact as he traces the flowers over Clark's smiling cheek, down his jawline, and when they touch his chin, flick up to tickle his bottom lip. The young man can't help his outright giggle at the touch, one that gives him that familiar tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach and leaves him smiling.

"Coming from someone as beautiful as you." Clark gives the roses a kiss and finally takes the thorn-less stems in his grip, fingers brushing together for another wonderful tingling feeling.


	2. Dancing

"Nick, I'm serious, I can't dance-"

"Shh, Clark, it's ok, relax baby," Nick soothed in a whisper as he wrapped his arms around the young man's shoulders. "I'm not that great either, but nobody's looking and we can just dance together-"

" _Everybody's_ looking!" Clark tried not to whine because that would just draw even more attention to them in this club, but he could feel everyone's eyes on them and people were going to laugh at them looking so awkward and oh god... He bit his lower lip and held to Nick's jacket for dear life.

"Baby, baby, baby." Nick pet his hands in gentle circles, and Clark felt the soft touch of lips under his eye even though he wasn't crying. "Just trust me."

It took quite a few moments before the whimpering sounds leaving Clark's throat relaxed into normal breaths. Of course he trusted Nick, you didn't have love without trust. But when fear made your blood rush and heart pound so loudly in your ears...

"Nobody's going to be laughing at you, not if I have anything to say about it," Nick murmured, kissed each side of the young man's mouth, and rubbed deeply at his shoulder blades. "Move with me."

Before Clark could answer, he felt a gentle swaying of his boyfriend's hips. It wasn't like the movements of intimacy, just light and carefree like anyone lost in music would do, never mind this tempo wasn't even close to matching what currently pumped from the club's speakers.

"Here, relax your hands," Nick moved his own hands to gently grasp Clark's forearms and loosen the death grip on his clothing. "I'm not gonna fly off, it's ok."

At least there was a soothing voice to listen to; Clark tried to concentrate on that and make the furious pounding go away. Long fingers clasped over his palm for a comforting squeeze, and the other arms were slipped about each others' hips.

"There we go." Nick kissed at the young man's jawline, perched chin on his shoulder, and continued slowly rocking his own hips side to side.

At this point Clark at least stopped feeling like he was going to be sick, and did his best to keep his breathing steady while just going along with the swaying motions. Nick's breath was warm along his skin from earlier drinks (which must have been what made him think trying to dance was a good idea, Clark would think later) and stubble lightly scratched his cheek.

"Yer heart's beating," Nick murmured at one point, and shuffled his feet for the pair to turn in a partial circle motion.

Clark gasped and quickly moved a foot to the side as well. Don't trip up, anything but that-

-and heart settled back in his chest when both feet stayed on the floor.

"Always beats," he managed to say, even with an awkward smile and knowing that heart was now racing a little, even if not as loudly as before.

Nick chuckled and drew back his head for their foreheads to touch, and the young man could see a soft reflection in his boyfriend's dark eyes.


	3. Serenade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Until You" lyrics actually an original creation- we all know Clark's real lyrics are way more sophisticated than this ;)

_Bless the person who invented Skype,_ was Nick's musing as he took the popcorn bowl from the microwave and flopped across the mattress. The computer had finished booting up, so he just tapped the final keys needed to log in and make the call. He idly munched a few kernels and watched his desktop wallpaper rotate the family pictures until Clark's sitting form appeared in the window, large brown dog draped on one half of his lap and part of his portable keyboard on the other.

Beautiful. "Hi, babe," he leaned close to the camera as always for a 'kiss'.

"Hii." Clark leaned to return the gesture, and the dog scrambled off his lap to give the screen a curious sniff, which made the young man laugh. "Looks like Jolie wanted to say hi, too."

"I'll say. Hi there!" Nick gave a wave and grin, and Jolie nosed at the screen and made a curious noise.

Eventually Clark pulled the dog back to ruffle their head-fur, and Nick could hear a murmured, "No, buddy, you're not being replaced, daddy still loves you. He just wants to talk to his boyfriend, ok?" The grin was not hidden very well behind his fist.

Once Jolie scampered away and Clark pulled the keyboard completely into his lap, Nick let more of his smile peek through. "You really do have a big heart."

Clark gave a modest shrug and fiddled with some dial or other on the keyboard. "I try." Eyes widened when he took notice of Nick's snack. "Ohh god, popcorn, gimme!"

"Sorry Clark, no can do," Nick smirked and swallowed another handful.

Clark made a playful pout, and Nick really did wish he could go through the screen to give that bottom lip a deep kiss. "So mean."

"I make up for it bein' good in bed," wink.

"Mean _and_ a tease."

"But you still love me, right?"

Clark did that one-shoulder shrug and airily said, "Oh, I suppose."

Nick put the back of a hand to his forehead and dramatically tilted back. "Only suppose. Beb, you _wound_ me." 

He heard Clark's light laugh. "Oh god, we are _so_ weird," the tone was filled with love.

"That's what makes us so good for each other," Nick echoed the tone and looked back to see the young man lightly brushing over the white keys. "Been composin'?"

"Uh-huh," Clark nodded and touched a key for the A-minor note to float into the air. "There's...kinda something I wanted to bounce off you..." his voice became as quiet as the fading note.

Nick's smile was ready to split his face at this point. "Exclusive premiere, huh? That's real sweet of you, Clark."

"Yeah, I suppose." Clark lowered his eyes to the keyboard and positioned his fingers- shyly? "It's, uh, pretty simple-sounding compared to my usual stuff- I was trying for a Beach Boys 'God Only Knows' kind of feel but then it went-"

"Hey, hey. Relax." Nick softened his expression and held up a hand to interrupt the young man's nervous rambling. "It doesn't matter who it was supposed to sound like. It comes from you, it's all yours."

A little smile bloomed to Clark's face. "That's a good way to think of it."

There was another moment of quiet breathing between them, anticipation lingering like notes, before the actual playing started. As usual, Clark kept his eyes closed, lost in the high and sweet rhythm. There was a rather simplistic progression to the chords, and Nick was positive he heard something rather like 'Imagine' in the melody, but then Clark opened his lips for the words to quietly flow.

_I thought that I knew everything_  
_That I could make it on my own_  
_Thought I didn't need a guiding star  
_That my house don't need to be a home__

Sometimes Clark seemed to take on another persona when he sang- it was helpful during the show when somebody else's song choice was beyond his usual repertoire- and for a moment Nick thought the same thing was happening here, with the young man's tone being low and pleading.

And yet...

_Thought I already had it all_  
_Had my whole life all planned through  
_Until you__

Yet there was an emotion here you just couldn't fake. Nick covered his mouth again, not to hide a smile but a soft "ohh..." of realization.

_Until you_  
_I could stand alone in the crowd_  
_Until you  
_There was no need to sing aloud__

No persona going on here, this was all coming from Clark's real emotions.

Though just about what-

_The beauty of the sun never came through  
Until you_

Oh. _Oh._ Nick felt a hiccup die in his throat and he had to focus to keep his vision from blurring over as Clark continued to play.

_I thought that my life was full_  
_Thought that I was free_  
_Turns out that I never learned  
_Just who was really me__

Memories flit through his consciousness, long nights of growing closer despite the turmoil Clark battled inside because of the feelings that had lain dormant until then. He'd been so afraid- of losing friends, losing his career, losing respect from those he admired- it seemed even at one point that Clark was afraid of losing his heart, having never fallen into love so deeply.

It was a slow process- Nick suspected the young man would always carry a trace of doubt- but he was understanding, because love was about understanding.

_Hiding so long behind my mask_  
_I didn't know how to be true  
_Until you__

At this point, Clark had his head tilted when he was deep into playing, melody never faltering and words staying soft. There was a real vulnerability when he did softer songs, and this was as vulnerable as you could get.

_Until you_  
_The secrets stayed away in my heart_  
_Until you  
_The truth was always so far apart__

Or maybe Nick was wrong about his earlier assumption. If this was Clark's way of saying he wasn't as afraid anymore...

"Oh my god."

Nick didn't realize he'd actually said that aloud until Clark stopped his playing and focused back to the camera, his blue eyes headlight-wide.

"Nick? Are you OK?" When the older man couldn't answer right away, he dropped his hands from the keyboard. "Oh, my gosh, I wasn't trying to make you sad, I'm so sorry, the words just came pouring out and I couldn't help it-"

Nick coughed and rubbed at his eyes to regain some semblance of composure, and the multiple Clarks on screen melted back into one as his eyesight settled.

"Beb, no, it's OK, it's not your fault," he smiled and meant it. "That's beautiful. Thank you for lettin' me hear it."

Clark rubbed an arm with the same nervous smile he always had a split-second before facing the judges. "Can't say it's open to interpretation, can I?"

"Only if you really wanna make me emotional. Now who's the mean one?"

Clark leaned close to the camera with a loud kiss noise. "Much more than 'suppose' I love you. Much more."


	4. Sunset

Weekend evenings meant the beach long as the weather was good, and damn if everybody wasn't going to take advantage of it. Right now Nick was the only one on a rock piling, feet dangling in the water as he observed everyone else in their pockets of activity- younger ones playing splashing games, some of the guys attempting to bury each other in the sand-

And more or less also by himself was Clark, fingers and toes curled into the shoreline as he seemed engrossed by the horizon and without a care in the world.

Clark. Powerhouse-voiced, adorably friendly, hard-to-believe-he-was-even-real Clark.

Not that Nick was planning to say that loud, nuh-uh, no way. No point. It'd just make for embarrassment at best, and worst...he didn't want to think about the worst. Dealing with mismatched feelings was the absolute worst.

He was probably too old to still believe in silly things like crushes that came true, hell, maybe too old to believe in love in general. Music was the one constant that never let you down and made more sense to focus on.

Nick turned his attention back out to the water that was now slowly shimmering orange with the setting sun. The rippling waves of other colors looked like movement from a creature from the fairy tales it made no sense believing in.

Eventually there was the splash of soft footsteps in the water beside him, and he looked back to see Clark slowly easing himself into sitting position on the piling as well.

"Decided to keep an old man company?" Nick did his best to contain the utter joy in his voice, even if his smile failed at doing the same.

"Pfft, not that old," Clark said, and for a moment Nick had the crazy idea that maybe the younger man was reading his mind on some things. "Does look pretty out here."

Nick resisted all earthly temptation to keep looking at Clark as he agreed, "Yeah." Just look at the water, the constant water. "They're totally right, there's nothing like a Cali sunset."

"Here's to seeing more of 'em, huh?" Clark kicked his feet back and forth like skiing, and Nick's current line of vision made it too easy for him to observe how pale his skin looked under the water.

"You definitely will." That was probably as close as he'd ever get to saying what he really thought.

"Thanks." There was a pause before Clark curiously tilted his head. "I'm not bugging you, am I?"

Ugh, so much for trying to look casual. Nick ran a hand over his hair and looked up for complete eye contact, eyes soft and blue as the water had been earlier. Heh, so much for constancy. "No, no, not at all. Guess...just a lot of things are overwhelming." Close enough to the truth.

Clark nodded. "I can imagine. Your last year, lot of talented people around us...it's a lot of pressure."

 _Oh, you don't know the half of it._ "Yeah." One hand absently played with the worn hem of his shirt while the other curled back and forth on the rock. So hard to keep things bottled up...

"Hey."

No, that couldn't be a touch on his wrist, couldn't be Clark practically reading his mind on more things.

But there it was, as light and non-threatening as Nick could've hoped to imagine.

"No need to feel like a jumping bean. You're like, mega-talented. Country would have to be deaf not to know it."

Not just friendly, but adorably sweet. Nick chuckled and felt the smile from before come back, feeling more natural this time. "That means a lot. Thanks." The smile stayed when he looked down to see their hands still sort of connected. Clark's hand was a little larger and fingers slightly longer, just right for...well, just right.

"You want me to move that?" The question wasn't offended.

"...no?" Nick's breath may have hitched, and his face may have warmed like the sunset directly touched it. May have.

"Okay." Clark drummed his fingers almost casually. "Has...this been a thing for a while?"

"Thing?" Nick repeated like the first time wandering onto a set and needing someone to cue you your lines.

"This...crush or whatever it is you wanna call it?" Clark shrugged but kept on grinning.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Maybe you're losing subtlety in your old age," the young man's line was just a hint of teasing. Nick squashed down any extra fluttering feelings. One thing at a time here.

"Well...I mean, if it doesn't bother you-"

"I'm a little more open-minded than people think." Clark scooted a fraction closer while hands stayed linked, and at this point the sun had dipped far enough for the both of them to be coated in a deep orange light.

If it weren't for the solid touch, Nick would have a hard time believing the beautiful glowing person in front of him was real.


End file.
